Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
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Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
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Subcontract workers top 100,000 in 2011
The number of subcontract workers in the country surpassed the 100,000 mark last year, government data showed Thursday.According to the data released by the labor ministry, workers hired by in-house subcontractors totaled 106,601 in 2011, up 7.2 percent from a year earlier.First adopted during the Asian financial crisis in 1998, an in-house subcontracting system has been widely used by local companies to meet the demand for a trained work force. However, concerns have mounted that the companies
July 19, 2012
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Korea struggles to attract working holiday makers
Working holiday programs popular with Koreans, but attract few into the countryEach year thousands travel between Australia and Korea on working holiday visas. Young people from the age of 18 to 30 looking to self-fund their overseas adventures pack up for a year and jump into the unknown. But the traffic is almost all one way. While more than 15,000 Koreans are in Australia on a working holiday visa, only 23 Australians have traveled to Korea on the same program as of May.Korea sends the second
July 19, 2012
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Subcontract workers top 100,000 in 2011
The number of subcontract workers in the country surpassed the 100,000 mark last year, government data showed Thursday.According to the data released by the labor ministry, workers hired by in-house subcontractors totaled 106,601 in 2011, up 7.2 percent from a year earlier.First adopted during the Asian financial crisis in 1998, an in-house subcontracting system has been widely used by local compa
July 19, 2012
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More LEDs to light Seoul City streets
Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday that it will increase the proportion of light emitting diodes lighting in public places and private properties to cut energy consumption and aid the green light industry.Under the plans, Seoul will replace lighting in all public areas including subway stations, streets and city government offices with LEDs by 2018.Seoul city government also said that it will expand the project to the private sector by 2030, and that about 800,000 LEDs in the publ
July 18, 2012
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SUNY to train Korean language teachers
The State University of New York at Stony Brook will open certification courses for teaching Korean to meet the growing demand for Korean language education in the U.S., under an agreement it signed Wednesday with Korea’s Education Ministry. The agreement envisions Korea’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology providing the U.S. university with a total of $460,000 over the next five years to help it develop the programs. Stony Brook University will extend its existing Korean language pro
July 18, 2012
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Choi sparks suspicions of Lee’s presidential campaign funds
Suspicion over President Lee Myung-bak’s presidential campaign funds is growing after Choi See-joong, once Lee’s most-trusted advisor, said he received kickbacks from businessmen to support Lee during the 2007 presidential election. All eyes are now on whether his claim will prompt state prosecutors to look into the suspicions surrounding the president whose single five-year term ends in February next year. Yoon Byeong-cheol, Choi’s lawyer, admitted on Tuesday at the first hearing of Choi’s tria
July 18, 2012
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University students pledge voluntary tutoring
More than 500 university students have pledged to help young school children in learning as a part of a nationwide voluntary tutoring project.The Association of Student Volunteers launched a campaign called “Teacher for Korea,” with a ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday.Officials from the government, including Education Minister Lee Ju-ho, and more than 500 students attended the ceremony. The volunteer teaching project is designed to help children in elementary and middle schools learn more effective
July 18, 2012
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Prosecution to summon Lee's ex-aide in bribery scandal
A former close aide of President Lee Myung-bak will be summoned Friday morning for questioning over his alleged involvement in a bribery scandal surrounding an ailing savings bank, prosecutors said Wednesday.Kim Hee-jung resigned earlier this week as a secretary handling the president's personal affairs after allegations emerged that he took bribes from a savings bank chief accused of a massive lo
July 18, 2012
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Downpours, gales forecast nationwide, as typhoon approaches
South Korea's weather forecasters warned of heavy rains of up to 200 millimeters and strong winds in the country's southern and central regions, as Typhoon Khanun is approaching the southern island of Jeju on Wednesday. Khanun, meaning "jack fruit" in Thai, was 490 kilometers south of Seogwipo in the southern part of Jeju as of 6 a.m. on Wednesday and heading northwest along the country's western
July 18, 2012
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Chinese Consulate opens in Jeju
The Consulate General of China in Jeju opened last Saturday to deal with various affairs concerning Chinese people visiting the island. The consulate is the fourth Chinese diplomatic office in Korea, following the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China and consulates general in Busan and Gwangju.The office is expected to assist Chinese investors carry out investment work more easily and safely while directly addressing complaints such as entry denial or illegal residency of Chinese people in
July 17, 2012
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American professor sues KAIST for allegedly unfair dismissal
A former professor of KAIST College of Business is suing the country’s top research university for allegedly unfair dismissal, calling for compensation for breach of contract and damage to his reputation.Steven Jordan worked as an assistant professor of finance at the graduate business school from 2007 to 2011 until he was dismissed in June 2011 for alleged double-jobbing and unauthorized overseas
July 17, 2012
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Striking MBC unionists to return to work
Unionists of the public broadcaster MBC decided to call off a 170-day strike and return to work, the union announced Tuesday.The union said its members unanimously decided to go back to work Wednesday, as lawmakers agreed to discuss the MBC strike issue in the parliamentary session that opened early this month.An estimated 500 employees went on strike in January demanding the resignation of compan
July 17, 2012
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Korean team wins Math Olympiad
A Korean high-school team won six gold medals at this year’s Math Olympiad to help Korea finish at the top of the annual competition.This is the first time Korea has finished first in the Olympiad, and also the first time to have won six gold medals. The 53rd International Math Olympiad, which was held in Argentina from July 4-16, drew more than 500 students from 100 countries across the world. Korea sent a six-member team led by Song Yong-jin, a professor at Inha University.The six-member Korea
July 16, 2012
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Beleaguered KAIST chief fights back
Suh Nam-pyo, president of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, shot back at the school’s board on Monday, demanding explanations why he should be fired. The 77-year-old former MIT professor is facing the biggest crisis in his six-year reign at the nation’s top science university, with the board set to vote Friday on a motion to terminate his term prematurely. “(The board members) have never explained to me why I should leave early. They first should give me a clear explanation bef
July 16, 2012
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Ministry OKs foreign law firms’ Korean offices
The Ministry of Justice announced on Sunday that it granted three international law firms permission to open offices in Korea as part of eased restrictions due to the EU and U.S. free trade agreements.The three firms permitted to open branches here are London-based law firm Clifford Chance, U.S.-based Sheppard Mullin and U.S.-based Ropes & Gray.The three firms will be able to provide legal consultancy services in Korea after completing registration with the Korean Bar Association, according to t
July 15, 2012
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KAIST president refuses to step down voluntarily
Suh Nam-pyo, president of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, has insisted that he will not resign from his post despite enormous pressure from in and outside of the university.The 15-member board, led by chairman Oh Myung, is scheduled to vote to decide his position Friday. Although his term is until 2014, if the board votes to end his contract prematurely, Suh must leave the office after three months’ notice.But Suh said in a letter on Saturday that “even if they vote against m
July 15, 2012
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‘Find reading level to improve English’
U.S. academic says reading best way to boost vocabulary An American education expert says improving one’s reading ability is the quickest and easiest way to learn English as a second language.Reading offers the easiest way, compared to writing and speaking, to be exposed to diverse vocabulary and usage of the language, said Malbert Smith, president and co-founder of MetaMetrics, a U.S.-based education research group.“But to improve your reading skill, knowing your reading level and practice with
July 15, 2012
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Japan tourist arrested for sexually harassing Jeju women
Police said Sunday they have requested an arrest warrant for a Japanese man on a sightseeing visit to South Korea's southern Jeju Island on charges of sexually harassing two Korean women at an airport restaurant. The 67-year-old Japanese man is accused of touching the hips of two female employees in their 40s at a Jeju International Airport restaurant on Friday morning, police said. The man wa
July 15, 2012
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Lee aide resigns over bribery suspicions
A long-time aide to President Lee Myung-bak offered to resign Friday after suspicions emerged he took bribes from a now-jailed savings bank chief at the center of a massive lobbying scandal.Presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha said secretary Kim Hee-jung, who handles the personal affairs of the president, denied the bribery allegations against him, but expressed his intention to step down to take “moral responsibility.”A local daily newspaper reported earlier in the day that prosecutors are look
July 13, 2012
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Korean-Americans push for pavilion in NYC
Korean-Americans are pushing to build a traditional Korean octagonal pavilion in New York to promote the nation’s culture. The Korean American Association of Greater New York said it has recently proposed to the local authorities its plan to establish the pavilion, called “Palgakjeong,” in South Pointe Park, Roosevelt Island, opposite of the U.N. Headquarters.The proposal will be reviewed by the board of the organization that runs the island, it added. Roosevelt Island has been a hot spot for cu
July 13, 2012